Debating the Future of American Power Abroad

The early 2016 presidential debate already is full of conversation about when and how to use American power abroad. An equally important but often overlooked question is this: Why use American power?

This part of the debate over national-security policy focuses on what Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, calls “the purposes of American power.” Broadly speaking, there are four potential reasons to use American power, including military power, on the world stage: